Madrid: Ousmane Dembele turned the jeers to cheers at Camp Nou on Sunday by scoring a stunning goal and setting up two more in a 4-0 victory over Athletic Bilbao.
Dembele’s explosive finish in the second half was his first goal since the January transfer window when Barca told the Frenchman he should leave if he refused to sign a new contract.
But Xavi Hernandez has insisted on reintegrating Dembele in the last few weeks, with Barca needing the 24-year-old in their fight to finish in La Liga’s top four.
“Today he is the best Dembele we have seen and that is what we want,” said Xavi.
This victory puts Barcelona back into fourth place, above Atletico Madrid, and now only one point behind Real Betis, who have been dragged into the scrap after they lost 2-1 to Sevilla earlier on Sunday.
Second-placed Sevilla’s win reduces the gap to Real Madrid back to six points.
After bitter contract talks ended in stalemate, Dembele played at Camp Nou against Napoli in the Europa League earlier this month, when Xavi brought him on as a substitute to screeching whistles from the angry home supporters.
Yet many gave their backing to the forward in that game too, demonstrating the emotional bind Barcelona fans have found themselves in, caught between supporting a player Xavi wants to use and venting their frustration at his intention to leave for free.
This time, they whistled again when Dembele was introduced in the 67th minute but then had little choice but to applaud.
Dembele used his pace and power to score a brilliant second goal after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang had earlier given Barca the lead. He then teed up Luuk de Jong and Memphis Depay with two superb crosses in injury-time.
Xavi appears to have managed the situation as smoothly as possible, with Dembele noticeably going over to celebrate with Barcelona’s coach, who gave him a hug and an approving pat on the head.
